Good Morning Digital Neighbors! In Cath-O-Land we are celebrating Gaudete Sunday - time to don our rose vestments and rejoice as we draw closer to the birth of Jesus - called by many the Christ. Even if you are not on the Christian bandwagon, and many aren't these days, who doesn't want to find more joy in their life? Joy is a gift independent of the happenings in your life.
Happiness and happenings are very intertwined. Our happiness depends upon the happenings of our lives. It is not a constant experience in our life. No duh! Joy on the other hand comes from some mixture of trust and acceptance. Be it a trust in the Mysterium or a trust in fate or karma, joy comes from a trust that things are going better than even experience might lead you to conclude. It is the doorway to acceptance without falling into resignation which is always waiting to contaminate and sour our acceptance. It can easily be mistaken for denial. Real acceptance and trust does not deny the current realities of experience, but is not content to make it only thing that one will ponder. The living mixture of trust and acceptance opens our thoughts and feelings to seek beyond the moment and embrace a broader perspective. That perspective can open us to the gift of joy. Blessed Sunday to all my Digital Neighbors!!
I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. - Rabindranath Tagore
Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. - Mother Teresa
If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment. - Carlos Santana
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
